Red Sox Journal: Farrell likely to stick with what has worked

BOSTON — Manager John Farrell made no formal declaration on Monday, but it sounds like the lineup he writes out for Game One of the World Series will look a lot like the lineups he wrote out for Games...

Comment

By
BRIAN MacPHERSON and TIM BRITTON
Posted Oct. 21, 2013 @ 7:39 pm

BOSTON — Manager John Farrell made no formal declaration on Monday, but it sounds like the lineup he writes out for Game One of the World Series will look a lot like the lineups he wrote out for Games Four and Five of the ALCS.

That means rookie Xander Bogaerts will be at third base and Jonny Gomes will be in left field. It’s also likely that David Ross will catch Lester in Game One, which he’s done in all three starts Lester has made in the playoffs.

“We haven’t made out Wednesday’s lineup yet,” Farrell said, “but [we] can’t go away from maybe a little bit of momentum that a certain lineup has provided for us.”

That Bogaerts would remain in the lineup was expected. The 21-year-old has reached base eight of the 11 times he’s come to the plate in the postseason, and he’s hit three doubles and scored four runs. He might already be the second- or third-best hitter in the Red Sox lineup.

That Gomes would be back in left field instead of Daniel Nava takes a little more explanation. Nava posted a .411 on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers during the regular season, but he started only two of the six games in the ALCS. Farrell instead went with Gomes, a veteran who was signed in large part because he had such an impressive history of being part of winning teams.

[world-series-poll.html]

“Whatever combination he wants to put out there that gets us four more wins, I don’t think any of us will complain,” Nava said. “You don’t play 162 games to all of a sudden get selfish in the playoffs. You play 162 games to be selfless in the playoffs so we can go out there and win.”

“It’s not really me starting or him starting, it’s we,” said Gomes, who hit .188 in the ALCS but started a key Game Six rally with a double off the Green Monster. “It’s he and I. It’s our left field. It’s not what name or what guy is out there. It’s our left field.”

Lester gets the nod

Jon Lester will start Game One of the World Series, Boston Farrell announced Monday at Fenway Park.

Lester has allowed five earned runs in 191/3 innings in his first three postseason starts, good for a 2.33 ERA. He’s struck out 14 and issued seven walks.

The last time Lester pitched in the World Series, he was a 23-year-old coming off treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma being entrusted with the clinching game of the 2007 World Series at Colorado. He pitched 52/3 shutout innings. .

Farrell declined to announce the ensuing order of the starting rotation or any changes to the roster, citing the need for the coaching staff to familiarize itself with the St. Louis Cardinals. John Lackey pitched Game Two of the Division Series against Tampa Bay, but Clay Buchholz pitched Game Two of the Championship Series against Detroit.

Cards have their respect

It doesn’t take long to see the respect the Red Sox have for their World Series counterparts.

“We’re going up against a very complete team,” Farrell said. “They have very good young pitching; they have very good pitching in general. Just what I’ve looked at so far, they’re well-balanced. This is a very, very good team that we’re going up against.”

“There’s a reason why they’re in the World Series,” Ross said.

The Cardinals present an interesting challenge for the Red Sox: In addition to being really good, they’re also unfamiliar. Despite its perennial presence in the postseason, St. Louis has turned over a remarkable ratio of its roster since the 2011 World Series. (The Cardinals should have seven players from that World Series roster on its roster this series. The Red Sox will have four players from its 2007 World Series roster.)

“They’re a well-rounded team,” Ross said. “I told my wife when I watched them on TV beat Pittsburgh, I said, ‘I think that’ll be the team we’re going to play in the World Series.’ They’re fundamentally sound, they run the bases well. As an organization, they’re thorough. They scout well. They work on the little things, just like here. I think we have a lot of similarities as far as good baserunning, good, solid defense, good pitching, good bullpen, deep lineup. They don’t give away at-bats.”

The Red Sox haven’t seen much of St. Louis’ dynamic young pitching staff, which will include at least two rookies in the rotation and two more in the bullpen.

“What’s been most impressive to me has been that even on the shorter end of the experience scale, they’ve not backed away from any challenge,” Farrell said. “They pounded the strike zone with very good stuff and, like I said, we’ll provide everything to our players that we can possibly prepare them with. At that point it’s a matter of going out and playing a game.”

Few changes expected

The Red Sox haven’t yet committed to using the same 25-man roster for the World Series that they have for the Division Series and ALCS.

That said, there’s only so much maneuvering Boston can consider.

Even with the added National League element for the middle three games, it’s highly unlikely the Sox will change their position players. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway and infielder John McDonald have been traveling with the team, but that’s largely as emergency depth in case of an injury.

The one move the Red Sox could consider is putting lefty reliever Matt Thornton on the roster, perhaps at the expense of fellow lefty Franklin Morales. Morales had a rough outing in Game Six against the Tigers, walking Prince Fielder and allowing a go-ahead two-run single to Victor Martinez.